Rockstar have recently shipped new 'dummy' (read: not final) box arts to various retailers. The new boxes show the GTA IV logo over artwork, one of which we haven't actually seen before.

This is the first bit of marketing we've seen from Rockstar for about 3 months, at least on the GTA front, so hopefully it's a sign that things are starting to pick up again now. So stay tuned as we'll bring you news of any further information or new media released. Below are some pictures of the boxes, and just to reiterate, these are official, but they aren't final. For those of you wondering when we'll see the final box art, going by previous reveals, we generally see it approximately 3 months before the release of the game itself. Now we don't have an official release date yet, but we'd guess around as early as December or as late as February.

Today a news article posted on GamingExcellence provides us with a minor, yet potentially large piece of information regarding GTAIV's multiplayer mode.

According to a Rockstar representative at the PlayStation Holiday Preview Event,

Set for 2008’s second quarter, GTA IV was also missing, but Rockstar’s man on the scene told GamingExcellence that they had begun testing the various plots and that the developers were considering the possibility of having an open world completely unlocked from the start of the game. We also understand that the game’s multiplayer mode, unseen in the GTA franchise since GTA2 in 1997, is aiming for at least 16 simultaneous players, with more than just the usual deathmatch mode.

This news comes with many implications. For one, Rockstar mentions "at least 16," which means no less than 16 is aimed for, but there is also the potential for more. This information also confirms once more that deathmatch isn't the only option in multiplayer. Will we see racing? Capture the Flag? Or something even more intuitive? Only time will tell...